Letters: Sun Bowl welcome editorial missed the mark

Sun Bowl welcome editorial missed the mark

I was floored by the editorial in the Dec. 26 issue of the Times. It states:

"You'll likely hear El Pasoans knocking something about their community while you're visiting. You might be tempted to share some critical comments. A word of advice: Don't.

El Pasoans have something of a chip on our shoulders. We need to get over it. But it's not going to happen by New Year's Eve. So if an outsider takes to Twitter or Facebook or whatever to disparage our city, we're going to take great offense.

Wow. I could think of 1,001 other ways to welcome UCLA and Virginia Tech to El Paso, and all of them would be positive, optimistic and light. Putting a spotlight on last year's USC tweeting-about-El-Paso controversy and making us appear like we don't even feel comfortable about our own city is bizarre.

Oh, and yes, it was "needless to say" our Mexican food is good. But please ... can't we be known for more than that?

Amanda Waldmannstetter, West Side

Testing is unrealistic for immigrant students

I do not understand how anyone can expect students from Mexico who speak and comprehend only conversational English and who read and write English only marginally, whether they currently reside in either Mexico or El Paso, to compete equally in a school/classroom setting.

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A perfect example would be the Mexican student who was brilliant in math in Mexico, but stumbles here because solving most math problems requires a firm grasp of written English. Furthermore, even if they are having some degree of success with English, these students will be unable to appreciate of nuance of written English.

Nuance is a basic part of some standardized tests in both social studies and reading comprehension.

To hold schools and districts accountable for these students' shortcomings on standardized tests is illogical and shortsighted. Moreover, it is punitive to both the district leaders and the students.

A solution might be to require written and oral placement exams of all students whose English proficiency is in question. Then, impose intense English-language classes, the contents of which would be students-needs' based for small groups of target students. These classes might work best if they were the target students' first and second period classes each day.

Finally, no STAAAR testing of unprepared students, even if it requires holding some students back from advancement for a year. Sending unprepared students onward is a much greater sin.

Davis column downplays violations of the law

She spent half her column decrying the fact that people are put into jail trying to enter the United States illegally. Then she states, "of course immigration laws should be obeyed."

I think she is confused. She needs to decide if these people are law breakers or victims. It cannot be both.

Next she states, "How can you come to a country legally, when there is no available mechanism to immigrate?"

I direct you to the Advocates for Human Rights website, (hardly a right wing group), that states that "there are about 1 million people who legally immigrate to the U.S. annually." The Department of Homeland Security website states a slightly higher number, about 1.1 million.

Ms. Davis says that the immigration system is "incomprehensible." Obviously not, when 1.1 million people do it successfully every year. That's more people than to navigate Obama's health care website, which is truly incomprehensible.

Lastly, people do not lose their humanity when they enter the United States illegally, just their credibility and honor, and respectability.

Kenneth Vaughan, East Side

Avoid flat roofs, which are leak machines

Flat roofs have cost El Pasoans no telling how many millions of dollars over the years in damage to the house itself and to various belongings. That's not to mention the anger and frustration in trying to deal with a built-in leak machine.

Flat roofs are a poor design right off the bat. Why it's continued to this day is a matter of stubbornness, greed, ignorance and inability to recognize the problem.

Talk to a number of people that have had a leaky flat roof, and you'll be astonished, if you don't know already, at just how bad it can get.

Edwardo Sanchez, West Side

Villegas should have been home for Christmas

I have been following Daniel Villegas' case since 2010. On his last court appearance. Mr. Villegas was not allowed a bond Hearing so he could be hone for Christmas after 18 years.

I was appalled on the outcome to say the least. I immediately associated Jaime Esparza with "The Grinch." Talk about a lack of compassion and a heart as cold as ice.